Is AmazonBasics Full Synthetic Motor Oil better than Mobil 1?
 

Interesting results for those of you who do your own oil changes.

The best oil, dino or synthetic, is one that is kept (properly) changed.

saw this the other day... it gave me peace of mind for always using mobil 1 :D

the valvoline straight from the bottle even looks noticeably different from the other two

This same thread topic exists in multiple different sections of CL, starting to wonder....LOL

Anyways quick facts:
Same oil as supertech from walmart, same bottling source: Citgo.
UOA/VOA on Bitog.

Ancedotes:
Its oil, unless your demanding a ton from your vehicle, as long as the oil meets spec on your motor and your changing it, the Engine wont fail due to oil, and if it does, you`ll probably be on your next car before that happens.

Value/$
Unless this thing is cheaper then any oil out there, I`d say meh, unless you really like Amazon products, or really really pinched for time (in that case why are you even DIYing oil changes really)

which means the venzuelan government. just say no.

Exactly. The elitists who use boutique oil have always claimed Mobil 1 and Pennzoil Platinum blah blah blah are not full synthetics. Yet you lift the hood of an AMG or Corvette, and what do you see? The mobil 1 label.

I still wouldn't use Amazon basics, but I do see for 1Q 2019, seems like the rebates are non-existent? For at least the last 5 years, I have always gotten a $12 Mobil 1 rebate x2 per quarter or semi-annually, and $10x2 Pennzoil Platinum rebate. That's per 5 qt jug. Now as I type, neither has a rebate. Nah, cost of living isn't going up lol Just have to use the NOS in my garage until it's gone.

Actually upon further reading, Supertech swtiched to Warren Oil, which I guess means no more Citgo. Then Again who freaking knows, since Supertech So-Cal is Exxon.

Oil is oil for the majority of cars, Mobil 1 PP PU. If the right specs, could care less which brand it comes from. You only should be worried if youre dumping 15w40 in a vehicle thats specced for 0w20, or if you decide that oil changes are old fashioned, and everything is lifetime.

If you are really into the "perfect oil" show me the facts and figures upon each oil change, Compression ratio, wear and tear in the pan, Pictures of the setup after valve covers off etc. But truly if you go that far, its probably a hobby or work lol

I'm not into any of that, and have used Mobil 1 and Pennzoil Platinum for years, because I could get it for $24-$25/jug, then get a rebate of $12 for M1 and $10 for PP. The only car I didn't consistently use these in is the BMW, since neither met LL-01 (LL-01 stands for 2001 lol) after around 2014. At the same time, I refuse to pay $8/qt for BMW oil (times 7), so I would likely use Castrol from Walmart that has the LL-01 designation (after the M1 LL-01 runs out in the garage), and bite the $25 bullet.

there have been endless 'which oil is better' threads on CL... we probably don't need another one.

Didnt mean it to you in specific, just thinking out loud lol

I know....I think the engine oil analysis are over the top....it's like throwing away more money.....and seems subjective. But if the Corvette and AMG have Mobil 1 stickers under the hood, sure, it's endorsement, but it's likely good enough for those and our cars. If I can afford it, and avoid BMW oil at $8/qt, I'll use Castrol instead of Mobil 1 which lost its LL-01 designation. But if I had no choice but BMW oil? Then I would use Mobil 1 Euro, without the LL-01 because it's likely more than good enough for a non M BMW. They probably simply did not pay BMW to get the LL-01 renewed or whatever the certification process is.

Here's the example I bring up about endorsement. When I got my BMW in 2007, there was a pamphlet. "BMW recommends Top Tier gasoline."

On the actual oil cap under the hood is the Castrol logo, as BMW recommends Castrol motor oil.

BP made Castrol oil, and BP was not Top Tier gas at the time. So it's all about endorsements....

This is what those analyses often sound like:
"The levels of zinc are consistent with even wear, demonstrating that all is ok and you could likely increase the change interval to 9,000. Be sure to do another analysis so we can check, and make more money off of you." lol

I'm a firm believer that Castrol always made the best dino (petroleum) oil...I used it myself for years. But, with synthetic, I'm not so sure.:uh: After all, it was Mobil One that actually introduced and perfected full-synthetics in the everyday auto market.

It is interesting how we stick with a brand, and why...for me, the Mobil 1 and Pennzoil Platinum, is primarily for the rebates. But now, if they pull the rebates out, it's not that likely that I would simply switch to amazon basics. My mind says, well, I've used those two for over a decade, nothing happened, I'll continue as it's not worth having something go wrong over $10 or $12...

When I got that Volvo 264, they were notorious for top end issues. Again, the joke goes that it was a collaboration among Peugeot, Renault, and Volvo. And the French won.

The gentleman who put in a used motor/tranny for me, RIP, became a friend, and he told me make sure you change the oil on this thing in 2000-3000 tops, or we'll be rebuilding the top end again. He swore by Kendall GT-1, and had signs in his shop. So I always sought it out and used it exclusively. On the Maxima I always used Castrol GTX dino until around 190k when I switched to synth. And no, it did not introduce leaks!!

Well, that 264 ran 8 years, and he charged me $900 to swap the engine/tranny. It ran until I got the 1998 Maxima and as soon as my younger bro got it he hated it and destroyed it, I think on purpose, so he could get his very first new car, a 2000 Hyundai Elantra.